The World Is Flat

Although I initially took on the extra credit assignment for a chance for a much-needed grade boost, after reading the first few pages, I became more excited about reading the whole book. I wanted to become more aware of the world around me during my lifetime. I’ve quite enjoyed the New York Times articles Thomas L. Friedman has written in the past including his writings about the climate change and multiple foreign affairs. This book about globalization is just as captivating as his op-ed pieces. Although packed with foreign information (to me, at least), I was pleasantly surprised by the tidbits of fun facts that I learned as I read through it. I learned that Higglytown Heroes is inspired by 9/11, promoting the heroism of ordinary individuals, Wikipedia is derived from the Hawaiian word wikis (quick), and 9/11 is the flip side date of 11/9, the date when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, which Friedman claimed was the beginning of Al Qaeda’s view of United States as an enemy, and much more.

This book opened my eyes to many aspects of what once was blinded by my ignorance as well as confirmed many of my prior knowledge about the world around me. Now, I can actually engage in conversations that were usually reserved to adults in my family. In fact, as I was reading the book during the break, my dad was surprised that I’ve actually expressed interest in reading this book since it heavily involved arcane technological and financial jargon. Nonetheless, I’ve impressed my family members with how “in tune” I was with what was globally happening around me. In fact, while vacationing in Montreal, Canada with my family, I was able to confidently deliver answers regarding outsourcing, the significance of the Berlin Wall and Al Qaeda, how the Internet started, and how outsourcing, offshoring, and insourcing worked. In addition, while stuck in New York en route to Honolulu, my family and I were watching a HLN review of the past decade. Chuck Roberts said, “Do you remember Y2K?” and I actually knew what he was talking about! I’ve also sparked the interest of my siblings in sharing what I’ve learned.

I’m sure the rewards of reading this book will not stop here. Being more aware of globalization will indubitably help me in the present as well as in the future because what’s happening now will definitely shape the future of the world in the world around me and will in turn mold mines. In order to survive, I too must adapt to the world’s transformations.